Riddick and The Ship Who Sang
by BatPhace
Summary: Chapter 8! YAY! AUish Crossover with the Anne McCaffery book The Ship Who Sang. Just something I thought of, may or may not go anywhere. Mild language, may end up M later. Please Review!
1. Chapter 1

This is a crossover with an Anne McCaffery book called The Ship Who Sang. A lot of the details will be included in the story, so you don't _have _to have read the book, but it's a really good book so you should read it anyway. I'm not entirely sure how far I'm going to take it, or where, but here's the start. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

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Riddick was running, as always. He'd crashed on this miserable little planet with it's never ending rain almost a week ago and the mercs who'd made him crash here had been hot on his ass ever since. There were only two of them left now out of a five man crew. Any less would have been insulting. He'd been running for nearly an hour straight, trying to find a place to lay low and regroup with little success. 

He heard something then, a sound so beautiful he thought surely he must be hallucinating. He wasn't dehydrated, but hunger and sleep deprivation can make you hallucinate, too, and those he was suffering. He stopped to listen. The sound continued, and so he went toward it. It was like a song calling to him. No, wait. It _was_ a song. Someone was singing. A woman, based on the tone. A sweet tenor that cut through the sound of pattering rain and summoned him just a little further. He traveled toward the sound and as he crested the next hill he saw something that made him fall to his knees.

A ship. An ancient ship, with the shape of a cliched rocket ship, but a ship nonetheless. A smooth titanium outer hull jutting out of the ground like a tower, the rest of it buried beneath years of dust and rock and mud. Then he realized the sound, the song, was coming from this mysterious ship. Cautiously he approached it, hand resting lightly on his shiv, just in case.

"Hello?" he asked quietly. The song continued, so he raised his voice a little. "Hello!" After a second the song stopped.

"Who are you?" A woman's voice rang out like a bell, presumably the woman that was singing. Riddick thought for a moment. He couldn't very well tell her that he was Richard Riddick, escaped convict and murderer. Perhaps just a first name.

"My name's Richard.Who are you? How long have you been here?" There was only silence for a moment, then the woman spoke again.

"Richard..." she seemed to be pondering over the name, like it could mean something else, "My name is Helva. XH-834, to be exact. I've been here for, well, about two hundred years, actually."

Riddick's eyes grew wide. What sort of being could survive two hundred years on this miserable planet? Two hundred years at all, really.

"Two hundred years? You must be joking. What are you that you could survive two hundred years?" he scoffed.

"I most certainly am not joking. I could survive here a hundred more if I reserved my nutrients." Her tone was almost offended, but even with that her voice was still enchanting.

"What are you!" he demanded. There was only silence for a moment, then the metallic groan of a rusted lift descending to ground level in front of him.

"Why don't you come aboard out of the rain and we can discuss that. You're welcome to anything in my galley, if it's still any good." Riddick was skeptical though his stomach let out a resounding 'yes'.

"You would let a total stranger aboard your vessel? How do you know I won't kill you? And more importantly, how do I know you won't kill me?" The woman let out an exasperated groan.

"Good grief, if I wanted to kill you I could have done so already. Honestly, I would like the company. I haven't spoken to anyone in years, since my brawn died. C'mon, I don't bite."

Cautiously, Riddick boarded the lift and was brought to the outer air lock of the vessel's main cabin. He stepped inside slowly, scanning the interior for any signs of the vessel's inhabitants. There were none.

"What beautiful eyes you have, how did you get them?" The woman's voice now came from a large titanium column in the center of the room.

"Who are you? Where are you?" Riddick was starting to get agitated.

"I told you, my name is Helva, and I'm here."

"I know your name, but where in the vessel are you!" he demanded. The woman sighed heavily.

"I _am _the vessel."

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Oh yeah REVIEW PLEASE! 


	2. Chapter 2

Aha! Back again. Thank you to all who've reviewed. I didn't ever expect such an interest in this.**I** thought it was a good idea, but I didn't expect anyone else to. Thank you thank you and thank you again.

For all who are confused: There are more details in this chapter, and if you still have questions, either PM me or be content that they'll be answered eventually.

For all who've read at least one of these books before: What do you think of my incorporating Central Worlds into Riddick's universe? Should I rewrite and take it out?

For everyone else: Thank you for reading and PLEASE CONTINUE TO REVIEW!

Ok, I'm done. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own either story, just the idea of bringing them together.

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Riddick thought surely he'd heard her wrong. He stared at the titanium column in awe.

"What do you mean you _are _the vessel?"

"Just that exactly, I am the vessel." The woman repeated. "I'm a brain ship, for crying out loud. You are from Central Worlds aren't you? Finally come to retrieve me?" this man only looked at her column stunned, "Central Worlds? BB ships? Oh has so much changed since I've been stuck here?" She was beginning to feel pangs of panic, even though what was left of her conditioning balked at it. She knew the universe would change around her, but so much?

"Yeah, I know Central Worlds, but it's a whole different corporation now. What does the BB stand for?"

"Oh, it stands for BrainBrawn. I'm the brain, and my human partner would be the brawn. What happened, to Central Worlds, I mean. Do you know?" Helva's tone had lowered, betraying her sadness.

"Some scandal, then they were hostilely taken over and now it's mostly a militant group. Has been for as long as I've known it." Riddick heard her gasp. Helva had wondered why her tight-beam transmissions had ended so suddenly and without warning, why she couldn't contact anyone to help her. He continued, "I used to work for 'em, as a matter of fact and now there's a contract on my head because of it." He didn't want to tell her the rest of the atrocities that Central Worlds had been part of. Riddick walked around the cabin. It was fairly plain, a control panel, several doors to the various other cabins and storage areas, a head, and at long last the galley. "So what, you have a human brain or something?" Helva took a moment to respond, obviously lost in her own thoughts.

"Yes… I…" she pulled her thoughts together, "Would you like something to eat?" She asked lightly, noticing the man hovering around her galley, "With as packaged and sealed as everything in there is something ought to still be good." Riddick tipped an imaginary hat to her central column and began raiding her many cabinets. Helva continued as he rummaged, "Actually I have a whole human body in a shell inside my central column. It's small and twisted from birth defects. That's why my parents decided to shell me. My synapses control every function of this ship. _I am the vessel._"

"That must suck, knowing your parents sold you out to be a science experiment." If he'd had any couth at all he would have kicked himself for his callousness against someone who'd shown him nothing but kindness. His teeny tiny conscience piped up and told him to apologize. "I'm sorry, that was out of line."

"On the contrary, my life as a science experiment, as you put it, has been one beyond your wildest dreams, right up until the day I crashed here. It doesn't 'suck' at all." Her tone had sharpened and Riddick looked up in wonder. He hadn't heard a woman speak to him like that in years, if ever.

"You got big ol' titanium balls, you know that?" his own shock was betrayed in his voice. Helva smiled inwardly.

"Under the current circumstances I'll take that as a compliment. So what's your story? OH I wouldn't eat that, Niall said it was dreadful." Riddick had torn the heat seal on a bowl holding some sort of stew.

"Well, crappy as it may be, I haven't eaten in… shit, 3 days. It'll have to do. Who's Niall?" The dank smell of the stew steaming in the bowl was enough to turn his stomach, but it was food, so he ate it grudgingly.

"You first, how did you happen upon this fardling little planet?" Riddick had been awestruck by Helva and intent on eating that he hadn't even thought to come up with a cover. 'Shit.' He knew damn well that a ship like this was probably equipped with lie detectors, and even if she wasn't she would be able to read him like a book with her sensors. She was _very _perceptive. He took a bite to stall a moment. 'Small answers,' he thought.

"Crashed here." He answered quickly and interrupted when she started to retort, "Your turn, who's Niall?" Helva grumbled. 'So this is how it's to be,' she thought dryly.

"My brawn," she answered quickly and shot another question, "Why did you just happen to be this far out in the middle of nowhere?" This time it was Riddick who grumbled.

"I'm a prospector, I ran into a meteor shower and got holes punched in my boat." He lied. Hopefully she wouldn't notice. Not like he could do much if she did, being a sentient _ship_ she had the upper hand at the moment. He hadn't the foggiest idea as to how to overpower her if the situation called for it.

"Richard, that was your name right? I don't appreciate liars, Richard," Her tone had dropped, he could tell she'd noticed, "Now either you can tell me the truth, or I can let the two gentlemen from outside my hull in and we'll all chat about it."

Riddick perked. The mercs. The two that were left out of the five that had landed here after him were the smart ones, the ones who knew who they were dealing with and had come fully prepared. Between the two of them they could get him back to slam if they could catch him, and Helva was suggesting that she would aid in that part of the scheme if he didn't spill his guts. This left him in a quandary. Come clean to this admittedly bigger dog that he was an escaped convicted murderer, or go back to slam. 'Decisions decisions,' he thought with a smirk. Suddenly he heard the unmistakable groan of her lift descending slowly outside.

"Ok, ok. I'll tell. Just get rid of them for me, huh?"

"Good choice, Mr. Riddick," she remarked sounding much too uppity for his liking, "Would you like to listen in?"

"Sure. Wait. How did you know my last name?"

"The two men outside have been calling it, logic says since you're the only human I've seen for quite some time… Audio on." The cabin filled with the clanking of metal on metal as the mercs banged their guns on Helva's hull.

"Riddick! We know you're in there CLANG ! Goddammit WE'VE GOT YOU! Give yourself up fucker!" It was the bigger of the two yelling.

"My my, are your friends always so rude?" Helva asked, her voice still directed inside the ship.

"You have no idea." Riddick retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Well then…" Helva cleared her throat and the clanging stopped, "Excuse me you malicious little men. What is the meaning of you clanking like that on my hull?" Riddick heard the two fumbling with their words, startled by the sudden booming female voice emanating from the mass of titanium before them.

"Pardon us, miss, but we have reason to believe that a very dangerous man is stowing away aboard your vessel. If you could just let us aboard to have a looksey, we'll be on our way with him." Helva chuckled.

"Dear me, a dangerous man you say? Well, I do believe I can handle dangerous men, and besides, he's not the one with the gun." The two men let out exasperated groans.

"Look lady, you're standing between us and the biggest payday ever, so let us in to have him or we'll shoot our way in and take him. It's your choice." The smaller man was losing he temper.

"It's not wise to threaten a superior being, leave now or die where you stand. Now it's your choice." The two men conferred for a moment before answering.

"We'll take our chances." The click of guns being made ready to fire could be heard over the speakers. Helva turned her voice inward again.

"Riddick, you may want to cover your ears for this." He did, and was glad he had as the loudest most high-pitched wail blanketed his senses. Pure sonic hell in the form of triple note. Even with his hands over his ears Riddick could feel his eardrums stretching to the limit. His very brain felt as though it were vibrating and growing inside his skull. After a moment the sound stopped and he became aware of another sound, a blood-curdling roar that he hadn't even been aware that he was letting out. He stopped and collapsed to the deck, amazed not to see blood on his hands from his ears.

"We'll have no more trouble with them. Are you okay?" Helva asked, concerned. She sounded to Riddick as though she was under water, or he was, and he could barely decipher her words around the ringing in his head.

"I think I'll live," he shouted, wincing as his own voice reverberated within his skull. Helva chuckled to herself. After a moment to let Riddick's ears get back on the up and up, Helva attempted conversation again.

"So just how dangerous are you?" Riddick shook his head to get rid of the last of his ear trouble.

"Dangerous enough that half the galaxy is after me."

"Well Mr. Riddick, it seems that we are in the position to help each other. You need to get off this god-forsaken rock, and so do I. To do so, you need a ship and I need a brawn to dig me out enough for lift off. Can we strike a bargain?" Riddick thought on it for a moment. He really had little other option. The skiff he'd crashed here on was totaled, and if he stayed it was only a matter of time before he A: starved or B: more mercs came after him. Helva had food and water, shelter, and if he could get her unstuck could be his means of escape. She had just as much to gain from this as he did, so he didn't anticipate her breaking their accord if they made one. He played devil's advocate for show anyway.

"I get you mobile, you feed me, shelter me, and take me with you? Sounds like I'm getting the better of this deal to me." She was silent for a moment.

"To be honest, like I said before, I'm lonely." Her tone was dejected and it pulled at Riddick's dark little heart, "My Niall died many many years ago, and I've been trapped here alone ever since. I've never had the nerve to self-destruct so I just sat here in the rain singing to myself and waiting for my nutrients to run out. But I don't really want to die. I would like to be free, to travel the stars once again and find out what happened to the rest of my kind. So do we have a deal or not?" Riddick smiled a little.

"Where's the shovel?"

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Okay, there's chapter 2, lemme know what you think so far, eh? 


	3. Chapter 3

Hello all. Here's another one for ya. Like I said, I'm not entirely sure where this is going, but it's going somewhere so hang with me. Review please!

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

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After quite the argument, Riddick conceded to sleep for a while before beginning the colossal task of unburdening his get away ship to be. The argument went something like this:

"No." His jaw was set, his mind made up.

"Riddick, you are far to exhausted to be of any use to either one of us. So do us both a favor and go lay down and at least rest for a while."

"No, I'm fine." He lied. He really was exhausted, but he was also stubborn. Helva let out an audible groan of exasperation.

"Look, either you can go to bed now, or I'll fill the cabin with sleepy gas and you can pass out where you stand. Either way, you're going to sleep." And so with the grumbles and growls of an unhappy hellhound, he went for the pilot's cabin.

"Good night, Riddick." Helva chirped after him. He turned back toward her central pillar as if to retort, staring straight at the spot where her head was inside her shell, but thought better of it and entered the cabin, closing the door behind him. The cabin was stuffy from nonuse, not much in the way of decoration, but the bed looked more than comfortable so he lay down on the soft shock mattress and soon after fell into a deep and troubled sleep.

Helva thought of watching to make sure that he did as he was told and actually went to sleep, but decided to trust that he would and so she left him be. After a few moments she checked his vitals, slow and rhythmically steady. He was out like a light. 'Oh how the mighty have fallen,' she thought with an inward grin.

She peered into the pilot's cabin and watched him sleep for a moment even though she knew this was not the type of man that appreciated being spied upon. It felt odd having someone there after so long. Being so aware of someone's presence in her rooms. Especially someone so different from Niall. Niall was short and wiry, Riddick is tall and muscled. Niall was comedic in tense situations, Riddick seemed serious, possibly too much so.

She remembered the day she'd chosen Niall Parollan to be her brawn. He was her supervisor then, but she'd chosen him to go with her on a final mission for Central Worlds, which _he'd _set her up for. Even with all the havoc that ensued they still wound up together. Though they'd had their quarrels and spats like any partnership (some of the names they'd called each other still lightened even her darkest mood), there had been a bond between the two of them that was as natural and intense as the stars around them. She remembered the days when they would go hours without speaking to each other and then suddenly speak up in the middle of conversation like they'd been talking the whole time. It was that way up until the day, no, the very moment he'd died.

_"Helva," he was wheezing now. What had started as a mere cold had quickly progressed into something like severe pneumonia, and there wasn't a thing Helva could do for him. "Helva, you have to let me off. I will not die here and leave my body to drive you mad." He had somehow gotten the barmy notion that he was going to die, but Helva kept telling him that all he needed was rest and good nutrition. She knew better at heart. His lungs were becoming waterlogged. It was only a matter of time, but she stubbornly clung to her decision to lock the airlock doors. "Helva! Helva you stupid fool, you… you tin-plated witch, let me out. DAMN YOU!" He collapsed then, sinking to the deck like a rag doll, and for only the second time in their long partnership he cried. He didn't want her to watch him wither away. She deserved more than that after so long together. "Helva m'gal, whether I'm here or not, you are with me here always." He touched the left side of his chest._

_It went against all her conditioning, all of her instincts screamed at her to hold her resolve, but she unlocked the airlock door and let him go, staying with him over the communicator button he wore at all times. She sang to him for nearly three days straight as he laid in the rain and mud to die. She listened to his breathing become more and more shallow until his body just couldn't give anymore. Bless him, because he was right. If he had stayed gods only know what would have become of her mind._

Hollering brought Helva back to the present. She found Riddick tossing and turning, yelling in his sleep. His vitals were erratic and his brainwaves were off the map. Just as Helva had made the decision to wake him, it stopped. He stopped thrashing and over the next five minutes everything came back to normal. 'Have to remember to ask him about that,' she thought to herself. She should at least be informed if it was a normal occurrence for him to have nightmares like that.

The rest of Riddick's sixteen-hour nap was uneventful, allowing Helva to inspect all of her long unused circuitry to see exactly what would need to be done, assuming he got her dug out enough to bother powering up her take off systems. She had calculated how long he could last given the food provided (water wasn't really an issue since it rarely quit raining) and it would be tight. He would have to keep up a grueling pace that might overcome a weaker man. But then, there was something about Riddick that didn't strike Helva as 'weak' in any sense of the word. There was a burning desire in him, a will so strong it might just be able to save them both. She was so busy preparing diagrams and circuitry maps and ship specs for his disposal that she hadn't even noticed him wake and come to stand behind the cabin door, listening to her hum quietly to herself.

"You have a beautiful voice," Helva's attention snapped to at the sound of Riddick's voice in the cabin door as it opened, "for a science experiment."

"Great red dwarf! How did you do that?" Helva shrieked. She hadn't even been aware that his vitals had come up, but here he was at the cabin door listening to her? He stepped out toward the plush pilots seat and sat with a huff.

"Now hasn't that been the question of my life," he replied lightly, "So what _were _you humming about?" Helva was still trying to wrap her mind around how he'd gotten to the door without her knowing, but she chalked it up to being out of practice, even though she knew that wasn't it.

"I was just… reminiscing, that's all. And thinking about things. Did you sleep well?" she asked, hoping to get an explanation for the nightmares out of him.

"No." The infamous single word answer. Helva would have rolled her eyes if she could, "But you already knew that, which is why you asked." He smirked. She was caught.

"Just curious. I suppose you'll explain in due time, or not. There are warm clean clothes in my cargo hold. You'll need them. The rain today is just above freezing." Riddick nodded and rose to rummage through the galley once again.

"Do you have tea?" he asked after not finding it on his own.

"No, but there's coffee, which I was told is quite good." Riddick would have preferred tea, but he would need something warm in his gut to start with so coffee would have to do.

"Don't you think you should eat something?" she asked, concerned when all he did was break the heatseal on his coffee before heading for the cargo hold.

"I don't eat breakfast. Besides, I want to get to this. If I'm right, I've got about two weeks worth of food in there, if I ration. That means I have to bust ass or we're gunna stay here. And that means a whole lot more to me than it does to you." He wasn't trying to be rude, just damned honest. Helva didn't realize that at first and almost snapped at him, but she held her tongue when she realized that deep down it was true. Worst-case scenario, Riddick would die within six weeks from starvation, maybe more because of sheer will alone, maybe less if he got sick like Niall had. She had about another hundred years worth of nutrients left if she was careful, and that was another hundred years in which someone could find her and get her the hell out of here. He was suiting up as Helva pondered this, and by the time he was fully dressed and ready to go he had earned another piece of Helva's respect because he knew the odds and was going to try anyway.

"Would you like some company outside?" she asked him finally as he walked to the airlock of the main cabin.

"Maybe in a while. I have some… reminiscing… of my own to do," he replied cheerlessly, and with that he was headed groundside with his shovel and pickaxe in hand.

(--)

"_Riddick!" _

There had been such fear in her voice, more than any twelve year old should ever have to convey.

"_We're gunna lose everybody out here." _

So much fear. Though he was yards ahead he could still smell it emanating from her.

Hours passed, and every swing of the pickaxe brought forth another memory. Memories he wasn't sure he was happy to have. She hated him now. He knew she did. But he had to leave, whether she understood that or not. Perhaps by now she did. But by now she wouldn't be the same Jack he'd taken off that hell planet. So why was he trying so desperately to get back? Why did he feel this overwhelming pull toward her? Helva's soft voice broke his chain of thought.

"Don't you think you should come inside and warm up and dry off? Eat something maybe? You've had a good lick at it, take a break." Her tone was almost motherly and it reminded him that he was indeed soaked to the bone and starving. He growled and swung the pickaxe once again, planting it firmly in the ground. Even if someone happened by, there was no way they could get it out. He went inside and Helva turned a blind eye while he stripped, dried, and changed into his second ship suit. He stayed silent all the while, which worried Helva just a little.

"So-" Helva went to try once again at conversation, but Riddick interrupted her.

"You want to know about my nightmares?" he asked sardonically after chugging half a liter of the electrolyte-water solution Helva had prepared for him.

"Well, yes. I think I should know at least if it's a regular occurrence." Riddick chuckled.

"Yeah, it's a regular occurrence." He sighed and sank down in the pilot's chair. "You see there's this girl," his voice darkened and his face took on an unfocused expression, "She was twelve when I took her and a holy man off this shitty little rock we crashed on. The three of us were the only ones who made it out of ten who survived the crash. Everyone else got eaten." He smirked a little as he remembered Johns in particular, then continued, "I had to leave her with the holy man in New Mecca because it wasn't safe with me. It'll never be safe with me. She was so angry." His eyes drifted along with his thoughts of how she'd yelled and cried for him as he walked to the dock of the transport shuttle. He stood, finishing the liquid. "She's why I have nightmares."

"Oh," was all Helva could manage. After a bite to eat spent in silence, Riddick was ready to get back to work. He stopped at the airlock door and looked back over his shoulder with a grin at Helva's central column.

"I'll take that offer at company now."


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, so maybe not a hiatus after all. Anyway, I think I may have screwed this up. I read somewhere that Riddick got his shinejob at Butcher Bay, so that must make Butcher Bay an underground slam, right? If I did mess up, I apologize now and please correct me so I can fix it. If not, great, fantastic, marvelous!

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, please keep it up! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you (had enough yet?) thank you!

Disclaimer: Neither story is mine, but I (like a Frankenstein of some sort) brought them together! Muahahahaha :o)!

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"So," Helva paused as the pickaxe came down, "how did you get those," she paused again for another strike, "beautiful eyes, if you don't mind my asking?" Riddick planted the pickaxe in the ground one more time and perched himself on the ledge he'd dug out of the dirt around Helva's base to take a much deserved rest. He'd been digging for almost four days straight, resting and eating every few hours to keep his strength up. He was certainly making headway. The rain had let up a little making it easier, not that it could possibly rain _all _the time _anywhere_, no matter how odd the planet was. It had to stop completely soon, right? 

"Are you sure you want to know?" He asked, looking up at the sensor on the nose of her hull before taking a swig of his electrolyte water and wincing, "Can't you flavor this crap or something? It tastes like shit." Helva snorted.

"It's good for you, it'll keep you hydrated longer than water, and if you want flavor then there's mud all around that you could use. Other than that, no I can't flavor it. And yes, actually, I would like to know about your eyes. It can't be that bad, can it? Obviously you weren't born with them, I would just like to know more about you all around really. You're interesting, that's all."

Riddick chuckled. Couldn't be that bad? Interesting? A thought occured to him then. He could divulge every aspect of his long and vile existence to this woman and she would be completely objective. She'd never heard of him before now, didn't know his reputation or his history except for what he'd told her. So why not gain a new perspective on his life? He sighed heavily.

"I got them in slam, actually. When I was about sixteen I killed my first merc. He was an ugly bastard too, rude as all hell. Thought just because Central Worlds wanted me back in custody he had the right to snatch me up like some little pup. I put a shiv in his gut for that." Helva gasped softly, "Yeah, that was about the sound he made too. The 'law' finally caught up with me after they found the third dead merc, sent me to Butcher Bay. Ever heard of it?" Helva thought for a moment.

"I think so, that's the underground one, right? I've heard it's rough."

"That would be the understatement of the millennium, sister. Not as bad as some I've been in, but they told me I'd never see daylight again. After being afraid of the dark for most of my younger life I said to hell with this shit and found me a 'doctor'. Managed to get him twenty menthol Kools to do a surgical shinejob on my eyeballs." Helva made a sound that bordered on disgust.

"You actually had one of those horrible procedures done? In prison? My _gods_ you must have been desperate."

"Yeah, you could say that. It comes in handy though, for seeing what's sneaking up on you in the dark."

"How interesting," was all she could manage. Riddick smirked. That was his line.

"Anyway, been in and out since then. Mostly out. They can't keep me in, and I'm a threat to everyone in Central World's employ. Hence the two assholes whose brains you scrambled with that sonic of yours," he shifteduncomfortably on the ledge,"I have a million dollar bounty on my head so no one is ever going to leave me alone. Not 'til I'm dead." The last sentance came out lower than he'd intended, and Helva noticed the way his tone had become so dismal. She spoke softly, like a mother would to a saddened child.

"That's why you had to leave Jack behind, isn't it? You wanted her to be safe." Helva noticed his eyes darken further with just the simple mention of the girl's name. He hopped off the ledge and grabbed up the pickaxe again.

"Yeah, that's why I left her behind." His response was sharp, and Helva could tell she'd hit a nerve. 'Let's hit it again.'

"You realize that you _are _going back for her when we get off this miserable littleplanet,right?" Riddick's eyes shot up to the sensor, almost dropping the pickaxe as he lifted it over his head.

"What the shit are you talking about!" he retorted flippantly.

"You heard me. Both of us have lost someone that we care deeply for, whether you want to admit it or not. It's a little late for me to resolve my life, but it's not too late for you, so..."

"Look, I'm not going to be anyone's goddamned charity case. All I want is a ride off this fucking rock. That was the deal Helva." He glared up at her sensor.

"YOU LOOK!" Her voice boomed loud enough to shake some of the mud loose from the edge of the hole Riddick was digging, "I've heard you yelling for her in your sleep. And when you speak of her it's all you can do not to vomit up the guilt. Whatever happened between the two of you is history compared to what lies before you. Not to mention I have every means at my disposal to simply kidnap you and force you to my will. So there." She paused for a moment and before Riddick could retort she spoke again, her voice suddenly melancholy.

"I've lived through too much; the death of not one but two men that I loved. That would be enough to break most others, human and brainship alike, not to mention my solitary time here." Riddick considered this for a moment, pondering whether or not he could take so many years alone. His demons would eat him alive if he were trapped with them long enough. Helva continued, "You, too, have lost someone, but you have the chance to get her back, if she'll have you. That shall be my goal now, and once it's accomplished, I shall travel the stars in search of the rest of my kind." Riddick stayed silent, pondering her words.

He grumbled as he picked up the pickaxe, realizing that he really had little other choice. He could leave, but what would that accomplish as far as getting him off this rock? Going back for her was something he wanted anyway, right? He thought about her constantly, so what the hell was his problem? He continued digging in silence for a while before his thoughts stalled and he attempted conversation again.

"So," Riddick raised the pickaxe and brought it down in front of him, "How did _you_ end up on this… how did you say it? Fardling little planet, that's it."

Helva sighed deeply. 'Turnabout is fair play, I suppose.'

"Niall and I were on a deep run. Expanding the frontier, doing our civic duty, all that rubbish. We hit a patch of random solar wind from somewhere that drove us down." Riddick waited for her to continue, digging away all the while, and when she didn't he put the pickaxe down and went to prompt her but she spoke up, her voice cracking a little and thick with guilt of her own. "I should have analyzed my landing place better. I should have kept trying to analyze the surface but I was trying so hard to level us out that anywhere had to do. If I'd sounded the surface better I would have known about the sinkholes beneath the planet's fragile crust _before _I fell into one."

Memories began to surface in her.

"_Helva! Where are our stabilizers?" Niall was frantic._

"_I can't get to anything! The solar wind knocked my connections! I'm bloody helpless." She hated her last three words. She'd never been helpless in all her years of travelling the stars. She knew what had to happen now, and she hated it. "We have to land." Niall had looked up at her in shock. She never landed anywhere without knowing exactly what the surface composition and atmospheric makeup of the planet was, and here she was suggesting they land practically blind on a completely unknown planet._

"_Helva, are you sure?" His voice was filled with concern._

"_We have no choice Niall. Hold on." _

"Well that's something we have in common. A crash ruined both of our lives," Riddick's voice brought her back to present.

"I suppose so," was her only answer.

"You mentioned losing two men that you cared about?"

"Niall was the second brawn in my care to die, actually. Jennan was my first brawn, my first of many things really. I daresay that I loved him. He died on a mercy mission, we had to save these priestesses from the destruction of thier planet by the sun they orbited. They didn't even want to go, but we forced the High Priestess to bring her followers. Jennan and a few of the women were trapped in the airlock when we took off and they died exiting the atmosphere. It took me a long time to get over that, lots of reconditioning. That's why I can say that you're going to find Jack and pour your heart and guilt out to her. Because you have nothing else to lose."

* * *

The next 'morning' after tossing and turning for the majority of his rest, Riddick woke with a new sense of doom and depression. Why the hell should he get off this planet? To go find Jack? She hated him now anyway, and what was so goddammed valuable in his life that he was worried about losing by staying here? Helva was right. If he could have gotten away with punching holes in the walls he would have, but Helva didn't deserve to be treated like that. Instead, he laid in his bed and let the feelings of self loathing wash over him until he just couldn't take it anymore and got up. 

"Good morning!" Helva chirped as he entered the main cabin.

"What the fuck are you so chipper for?" Riddick grumbled in response, walking to the galley to get his morning cup of sludge.

"I thought you should know that the bellow I let out before knocked some of the muck loose around my jets. If you can keep pace for about two more days, digging specifically around these areas," she popped a spec chart of her ass end up on the holoscreen, "I can probably get us the hell out of here sooner than either of us anticipated."

Riddick dropped his coffee.

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I promise it's going somewhere, like I said I'm just not sure where yet. REVIEW PLEASE and help me out! 


	5. Chapter 5

Hello one and all! I figured this would be a good place to update, since I haven't for a while and I have no new story ideas, persay. Not to mention njrd's wonderful recommendation ;o) of getting back to it. For the full effect of this chapter, read the tail end of the last one (just a suggestion). As always, thanks LOADS to all my beautiful, wonderful, fantastic reviewers, I LOVE YOU GUYS, KEEP IT UP!!

Disclaimer: Neither story is mine, but bringing them together was my idea so…

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Riddick's world spun for a moment and the impending doom that he'd felt before he'd come out of his room crushed him full bore. The whole situation had seemed surreal to him until now. The thought of getting off this rock and finding Jack had been hypothetical at best; he hadn't really thought about actually _doing _it. At least he hadn't been expecting it yet. It had seemed like a far off possibility before, like something that couldn't happen in this lifetime even. He was caught off guard and started to panic. If he got out of here, he had no excuses not to go to Jack. There would be no way out of it, and with it would be the possibility she could turn him away, and that thought made his guts turn over. He would rather not even see her, never find her again, than have her turn her back on him completely. Helva noticed his vitals skyrocket.

"Riddick? Didn't you hear me? We can get out of here soon." Her voice was optimistic but Riddick fell back against the wall, sliding down to the floor.

"Yeah, I heard," he replied absently.

"And…" Helva left the question open. Riddick's glare shot up to the sensor in her central column.

"And what? You expect me to jump for joy when I know that as soon as we get off this rock you're going to take me to find the one thing in this whole god-forsaken fuckin' universe that I _actually fear_?" Riddick's eyes grew wide as he snapped at her, but he realized they were the truest words he'd ever spoken. He was scared to death to find Jack because of all the things he'd felt for her before. The caring, the protectiveness, the marvel at such a kid, all the things she'd stirred in him that he'd barely gotten back in check. She'd undoubtedly changed, grown up. She'd loosed chaos before, what would happen now after so many years?

Helva understood his apprehension. She held her own terror at the thought of leaving after so many years. How could she make him understand? Calmly, almost sadly, she spoke, and he lifted his head to look at her column.

"You think because I'm a Brainship, because I have all the powers and prowess that I possess that I'm not terrified? I've been out of service for two centuries with no picture, no idea of how the universe has changed around me. I haven't the slightest idea what lies out there for me, whether any of my kind still exists, and what will happen to me once the new Central Worlds realizes that I'm back in action. All of these questions, these uncertainties, could easily keep me grounded here, but I need to be free, just as you need to be free. This for me has been like slam for you. If you don't go back, if you don't find out, you'll never forgive yourself and neither will I."

Riddick thought on her words for a moment. Helva was right. There would be chaos when he went back for her, but things would be worse if he didn't. ANd if Helva could summon the guts, so could he, by god. Bracing the idea in his mind, he stood and walked to her control panel, staring blankly at the spec chart she had up for him.

"You wouldn't happen to have bourbon in that glorified pantry of yours, would you? It'll make this a whole lot easier." His tone had lightened, and Helva was glad. She chuckled.

"Sorry, no such luck." Helva highlighted areas on her spec chart that she needed dug out still, "Work here around my propulsion panel, since there are a few circuits loose that will need to be re-soldered, here at the air intake, and here to break my last jet free, and I should be able to launch with any luck." Riddick rubbed one hand over his clean-shaven head and whistled.

"That's a lot still to go. And how am I supposed to know how to fix your wires? I got no clue how you're shit's supposed to go."

"I can walk you through that part, all it'll take is a little listening on your part," she poked at him, "Are you up for the rest?" Riddick sighed.

"Do I have a choice?"

(--)

Over the course of the next three days, Riddick worked in focused silence, only speaking when needed so that he could concentrate on the tasks at hand. Helva had felt a little snubbed at first, but came to realize that he was merely concentrating, trying to get the job done with as little distraction as possible, and so she respected his wishes for quiet and only spoke when she was spoken to or when she felt she had something vital to contribute. She kept herself busy checking and rechecking every relay and reading, rerouting or purging or de-fragmenting until every last system was flawless. When it came to wiring she couldn't do herself, like her propulsion system, she walked Riddick through the repairs without incident. He proved to be a very apt learner, taking her directions without question and picking up her general workings quickly. For a few moments here and there, Helva almost thought of him as her own set of hands, just as a brawn should be.

Finally, when Helva was sure everything was at its optimal, or as good as it was going to get without replacement, it was time to prime for launch. Riddick strapped himself into the pilot seat, anxiously awaiting any command from her.

"Are we ready for this, Riddick? This is it. It's either going to work or not. What if-"

"We could make this really dramatic, or we could get your ass up in the air, which would you prefer?" Blunt and to the point. Helva took a moment to center herself, and Riddick took a deep breath. They checked off all the lift-off specs one by one, until all there was left to do was try.  
"Let's go," Helva muttered as she reached deep into her systems, prepping her jet primers, propulsion, guidance and sensory systems. Riddick heard clicks, and then a low rumble that sounded like an earthquake. He felt her begin to vibrate with the effort, the rumbling growing louder as the vibrations grew more intense.

"Firing… NOW!" Helva fired her jets at full blast, pushing with all her might to get them broken loose the rest of the way. The first blast wasn't enough, and so with all her strength, all of the conviction she had left, wishing a tiny prayer for Niall, and roaring with frustration, she fired again. The fire burned so hot under her it incinerated the rest of the muck that held her, and quickly enough she was moving upward.

Riddick would know the feeling of a launch anywhere, and he roared along with her as he felt the g-forces grow against him in the pilot's seat.

"Let me see, Helva, I wanna watch that little shit heap disappear from below us!" Helva raised her observation screen and Riddick could see the ground moving further and further away faster and faster. His heart jumped despite himself. He was free. They were free.

"We're about to clear the atmosphere. Hold on tight, this'll be rough," Helva warned him. Already she sounded weary, but Riddick pushed the thought aside for now. Just as she'd promised, she jarred roughly as she fought gravity and the thick atmosphere. It took everything she had in her just to get them off the ground, and then it took an extra measure to get them through the atmosphere.

Once she cleared and got them away from the planet's weak gravitational pull, her engines quit. She had never in her entire existence felt so exhausted all at once. Riddick looked gratefully out at the stars, then his concern went to Helva, as he realized her engines had stopped and she was awfully quiet for having just escaped a two hundred year prison sentence.

"Helva? Are you alright?"

"I'm, I'm just a little overwhelmed, I think…oh, my…" her control panel went dark for a moment before the backup system kicked in.

"Helva? Helva stay with me? Helva? Shit, Helva?!"

No answer.


	6. Chapter 6

Hehe, I'm on a roll folks! Two chapters in three days? IT'S A MIRACLE!! As always, MANY MANY THANKS to my wonderful reviewers! You guys are the best so please please keep it up.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned either story, but alas, I just threw them together.

* * *

Helva felt something then for the first time in her endless existence; complete, utter weightlessness. Inside her shell, her body had no function, save for housing and processing nutirents for her delicate and complex brain. There was no sensation for her outside that which her ship sensors provided her, but now she felt weightless in a way that could not be rationalized by the mere lack of gravity around her hull. Not just a physical feeling, but one of mind as well. It was odd, and for a time she felt comforted by it. She had no memories from before she was shelled, since her parents turned her over to Central Worlds for the procedure soon after she was born, but she'd read about how babies were swaddled in warm blankets and cozied against their mothers' breast. Was this that feeling? She felt cut off from the world around her, only in a wonderful, soothing way. Not deprived as one might consider it, just... solitary. No overstimulation from her sensors, no computing multiple tasks at once. She reached further into the depths around her, pulling at wisps of other things she felt were important to her, looking for even more comfort. 

Suddenly there was a blast of sensation all over her that retreated just as quickly as it had come. She was frightened at first not realizing what this was. Fragments of audio, video and other sensory information were streamed at her all at once, and then, just as suddenly, it was gone. She didn't want this beautiful feeling to end, she was happy here. Another short blast came at her, then another. The sensations stabbed at her in the dark like hundreds of needles. She tried to focus, to make sense of what she was hearing and seeing. She could briefly make out a voice, and she felt connections pulling at her, like tributaries pull at the water from a river. Some were familiar and some were not. She touched on one of these new streams and was flooded with new information. Galaxies, routes, planets, history, people, everything was new and it hit her all at once, making her yelp from the intensity. She withdrew the connection and reached out for another. Audio. Riddick's grumbling voice flooded her audio sensors and she winced a little, adjusting the volume.

"-damnit. Why can't shit ever go the way it's supposed to? Now I'm wrist deep in shit I don't even-"

"You're welcome," Helva quipped wearily, still trying to shake her subdued feeling.

"Holy shit!" Riddick started, and Helva heard a thump that she assumed was his head hitting something as he uttered a string of expletives afterward, "You scared the hell outta me woman! What the fuck happened to you?" His concern was touching, like a punch in the face. Helva let out a deep sigh.

"The strain of lifting off and fighting so hard to get us out of the atmosphere after so long being grounded must have been too much. I don't think I've ever blacked out before, but thats the only way to describe a temporary loss of consciousness, isn't it?" Helva felt tentatively for her visual sensors and after a moment of adjusting those as well she could patch through to her main cabin. "MY GODS WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY CONTROL PANEL!!" she shrieked at him, seeing her control panel ripped open and wires and gadgets strewn everywhere on the deck around Riddick's body, which was laying underneath the panel.

"Calm down. I overrode your safety mechanisms, got you back on line and took the liberty of hacking you into the back door of Central World's system maps and history so you can catch up with the universe and what's happened to it in the last two centuries. Hopefully they won't notice any time soon." Riddick crawled out from under her panel and meticulously replaced all the wires into their harnesses then closed her up.

"So that's all the new feed I feel streaming into my brain. Do I have tightbeam yet?"

"One thing at a time, we don't need to worry about com capabilities until we figure out what all we need and who we'd need to talk to. First thing's first, refuel and ration. Can you call up the map for the system we're in?" She felt around for a moment, trying to orient herself with all the new information.

"I'm not sure, there's just so much there to swim through now."

"Try," came Riddick's flat recommendation as he lounged casually in the pilot's seat. Like he thought it was so easy. Helva was instantly irritated.

"Look, I have multiple new streams of information to make sense of, organize and gather into their proper places. Right now it's a bunch of senseless hooplah scattered hither and yan, and finding one specific system map will be virtually impossible, so if you wouldn't _mind _giving me a few moments to gather myself I would much appreciate it." Her tone was down right rude.

Riddick narrowed his eyes, then stood and walked quietly to the galley to wash up. He turned at looked straight at her, not the sensor at the top of her column, but actually at the level where she was inside it. Only Jennan and Niall had ever done that, aimed their contact directly at _her _and it struck her that Riddick did it as well. Even behind the stone mask he wore she could see the tightly restrained anger at her snottiness. She regretted her tone, after all he'd done nothing but help her since she'd met him, but she was frustrated. She went to apologize but he spoke first and the seriousness in his tone made her pay attention.

"I don't know what Central Worlds was like when you were with them, but they are _not_ a company to fuck with now. They are going to notice us sooner or later, and there's no telling what they'll do when they find us. If we're going to get back to Helion Prime to find Jack before that happens we have to hurry."

Helva thought on his words carefully for a moment before answering. The look he held in his eyes was grave, but there was a fear there as well. A fear of being caught and locked back up perhaps? Or a fear of never finding Jack again? She didn't know, but she did understand the urgency. She didn't want to think of what the new Central Worlds might do to her if they caught her, not to mention what they would do to Riddick.

"I see." 'More than you think,' she thought to herself, "That does press matters, doesn't it? I'll work as fast as I can then."

**(--)**

At the Central Worlds' base on Regulus Alpha, there is a tiny room that has a large monitor with little dots and call numbers for each and every ship in Central Worlds' employ. All the stats, records, and even the universal position for _every _ship can be tracked from this tiny room. The fat little bald headed man, Monty, that calls this room his job noticed something unusual this particular day as he sipped his coffee and contemplated what he was going to have for lunch; a new dot on the monitor. This dot had no call numbers, however. It came out of nowhere, and was orange in color, which meant the ship was either out of service or had gone rogue at some point.

"Ooh, an anomaly, I just love anomalies. Gives me something to do, eh Simon?" The stuffed cat that Monty addressed gave him no answer, but he set to work trying to figure out what this new dot was. Finally, after having to look through records archived before the takeover of Central Worlds, he deciphered its call number.

"XH-834? What the hell is that?"

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**Psst... don't forget to review!!**


	7. Chapter 7

Damn I'm on a roll! Holy cow. This may be the last chap for a week or so, maybe not hopefully. I don't know but I wanted to get this up just in case. Thank you to all my lovely lovely reviewers, PLEASE KEEP IT UP!! Ah, on with the show.

Disclaimer: Y'all know it by now, don't own, not for profit and so on.

* * *

Clicking was all Monty heard as he sat in the small chair in the darkened office of James Gordon, the Chief of Intel for Central Worlds. Gordon was a middle aged man, average height with salt and peppered hair. He had a hard jaw and sharp features, but his green eyes could convey a mirriad different emotions and could go from kindly gentleman to stone cold killer in the space of a blink. He also had no qualms living up to the latter end of the spectrum when called upon, and Monty knew it, which is why his palms were sweating though there was nothing immediately threatening about Gordon's demeanor at the moment. The clicking was that of the pen Gordon tapped against his leg, a quick rhythm that mocked the pace of Monty's own heartbeat, he noticed absently. 

Monty had dug through ancient and incomplete records in order to find the few shreds of information he could about the anomaly known as XH-834. She was a Brainship, Helva was her given name, and she had a long and honored service record with the old Central Worlds up to the day she went MIA. She'd held five brawns in her service, one died, three served and moved on, and the last, one Niall Parollan, his status was unknown, though he was undoubtedly dead by now. Really, the more Monty had found out about her, the more questions were raised, and so he thought it a wise career move to bring the matter to Mr.Gordon.

He sat rapt with the paper in his hand, reading the facts meticulously over and over, though he really didn't need to. He'd absorbed it all the first time, but he read on anyway for no other reason than just to watch out of the corner of his eye while the fat little worm across from him squirmed uncomfortably. The pen clicking against his leg was making the poor tech even more nervous, and Gordon enjoyed that a great deal. He'd gotten this far in Central Worlds because he could make people nervous. It was something he considered a gift.

"Are you positive your information is correct?" he asked in a quiet tone, making the tech jump from the sudden sound of his voice.

"Y-yes sir. It took me about a week to find it at all, but that's all the information I could dig out of the archives about it, sir." Gordon's face dropped, and his eyes took on a sinister air. He spoke again, this time his quiet voice held a seriousness that frightened the poor tech.

"You mean to tell me you knew about this a full week before you brought it to me?" Monty's eyes went wide, and a thin film of sweat broke out on his forehead. After a moment of delight watching the poor man squirm, Gordon spoke again, his tone considerably lighter now, "Good work, Monty. You may go. I'll take matters from here." Monty's jaw fell, perhaps he was expecting something more? "Yes? Was there something else?"

"Well, I- I just thought maybe... uh, well..." Gordon cleared his throat, and Monty sighed, "Nevermind. Thank you sir." Dejected, he sauntered out the door.

Gordon was curious when Monty had brought him the report on this 'anomaly', as he refered to it. And then finding out it was a Brainship that had gone missing more than two centuries ago, that had floored him though he would never admit it or let it show. When the Company had taken over Central Worlds, the Brainships in service had tried to revolt, to fight for the cause, as it were. This ended in the destruction of all but a few that would submit and be reconditioned, but even those would later be destroyed because they went mad. These unpleasantries were not public record, of course. This ship, this Helva, had somehow managed to stay below the radar thoughout all this and had _survived_ _somewhere_ for two centuries.

"What to do, what to do." Gordon rubbed his eyes wearily. For some reason she'd come out of nowhere after two hundred years. There had to be a reason. And there had to be someone aboard her, since she was crudely hacked into Central Worlds' main database. And they, whoever they were, had to be headed somewhere. Based on current projections they could be headed for any of a number of systems. Likewise, there was no way of knowing how far she'd come before she was noticed. Too many questions.

He didn't want to scare her, or ambush her by any means, though she could definitely be a considered a threat by the wrong people. Perhaps just keep an eye on her for a while, find out what she wants, where she's going, where she's been and so on. He picked up the phone and dialed Monty's extention. The fat man nervously answered the phone.

"Y-yes sir?" Monty's voice shook and Gordon smiled.

"Keep and eye on our little anomaly. Try to contact her, if her com systems aren't too out of date. If she gets to a point where we can calculate a course to where she's headed, let me know."

"Oh, yes sir. Absolutely."

"Oh, and Monty?"

"Yes sir?"

"I don't think I should have to tell you that this needs to remain our little secret for now, do I?"

"Oh, no sir, not at all. I wouldn't dream-"

Gordon let the extension go.

"Helva. You're going to make a lot of trouble for me, I just know it."

(--)

"How do you see? With your shinejob, I mean. Do you see in color? Or ultraviolet?"

"I see violet tones, some infrared." Riddick answered around a bite of stew.

"Ahh, I see. Do you miss seeing the world around you?"

"Nah, I like the dark better. My turn." After Helva had gotten all of the new information sorted and stored, and they'd figured the best course to refuel and ration while on their way to the Helion system, they really had little else to do but play twenty questions.

"How many brawns have you had, altogether?" At this Helva sighed.

"Five, altogether. Jennan was the first, Niall was the last, and there were three in between. Theoda, Kira and an arrogant ass named Teron." She spit the last name like it left a foul taste in her mouth and her tone made Riddick chuckle.

"Sounds like someone you're not too fond of, hm?"

"Ugh! We went on a mission to save four shanghaied BB ships and he was the most logical, arrogant ass I'd ever met. I divorced him after our first and only mission when he decided to just give up instead of helping me escape. Yeesh." Riddick let out a hearty laugh at her complete and obvious disgust with this particular individual. "Alright, my turn," Helva thought for a moment, trying to come up with the best possible open ended question.

Just then she felt something pushing at her com system. There was a pressure on the system, like someone trying to knock down a door. Then it quit.

"Riddick, I think someone is trying to contact me."

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REVIEW REVEIW and REVIEW some more please? 


	8. Chapter 8

Hello hello hello. Been a little teensy bit longer than I thought, so I'm not going to make estimates on updates anymore. As always, thanks LOADS to all my reveiwers. Oh how I love you all, let me count the ways. Keep it up!

Thank you Magicflute for all the suggestions. Hope it reads like they helped, cuz they did.

Disclaimer: Yadda yadda, you know the drill.

* * *

"And what are you going to do about it Helva?" Riddick's paranoia was rearing its ugly head, like the calm, peaceful little bubble of trust he'd had for her had popped with those few simple words. It was different now that they were off the rainy planet and being contacted. He hadn't thought much about it until now, he'd had no reason to, but Helva had what she wanted out of their bargain. If Central Worlds was trying to contact her she could just as easily just turn him in for whatever reward they would give her. He hoped for her sake she was a ship of her word, or at least her fear of what they would do to _her_ would keep her quiet. Helva picked up the spark of panic that pervaded his eyes.

"I don't think I should answer, Riddick. We don't know who it is, or what they want." She kept her tone as level as she could manage. He looked like a scared animal and the last thing she wanted to do was provoke him in this state. Lord only knows what he was capable of.

"I know exactly who it is; Central Worlds. They noticed us. If you don't answer you'll draw more attention." The words ground out between clenched jaws, and as much as he didn't like it he knew he was right. He was reminded again of just how powerless he was aboard Helva, and it was not a feeling he liked at all. Control was his forte, and on the rare occasion he didn't have it, he usually had a plan on how to get it. If not then at least a way to work the situation he was in to his favor. Now? Nothing. The only thing that kept his head level was that he could sense Helva's fear at having unknown variables as well. She, too, was one who liked control, and the fact that she was in a whole new universe from the one that left her behind scared the hell out of her.

"What do I do, Riddick?" There, the ball was back in his court. She did _not _want to lose the trust of this man and have him turn on her. Although she could subdue him easily enough, the complications that would arise weren't worth it. She'd meant what she said back on the planet, about losing too much and wanting to see him reunite with Jack. Riddick thought for a moment.

"Can your receivers even pick up what they're transmitting? Isn't the hardware too old?" She hadn't even thought of that. _Too irrational_, Helva thought. She fell silent for a moment, attempting to subtly see what she could do with what she had. She reached out to the pressure on her com systems and all that came through was a jumbled, scrambled mess.

"You're right; I can't even pick up the signal. That ought to buy us some time," Helva sounded a bit relieved. Riddick was not so sure.

"Or send Central Worlds' entire Fighter Class after us, depending on who's at the controls," he muttered. The dilemma was abated for now, but both sets of nerves had been rattled and there was a whole new tone to the situation now that reality had slapped them in the face like a freight train.

There was no more twenty questions as they headed to the Seneca System to refuel and ration up.

(--)

Monty had tried to contact XH-834 using as many different translators as he could think to use, tried over and over again with different transmission codes and had even tried talking the Central Worlds Museum out of their ancient broad range and tight beam transmitters... to no avail. The hardware just wasn't compatible. So he was just stuck in his little, windowless room watching the little blip move slowly across the screen in wonder. Questions flowed through his mind like so many bees in and out of a hive; Where had it been? How had it survived? What was its mission now? What made it tick? Sure he'd dug up the old specs and blueprints and logistic analysis of old Central Worlds Brainships, but it wasn't enough. He wanted to know the _brain_ inside the _ship_. Gordon, too, had noticed Monty's increasing interest in their little 'anomaly', and though Gordon had tried to dismiss him from the task, Monty voluntarily took it upon himself to keep watch of the thing.

Gordon himself was ever more curious about 'Helva'. Attempts to contact her had failed, and his first instinct had been to send a Fighter Squad, or at least a lone merc skiff, to investigate. Then he considered the fact that any shows of action may scare her into self-destruction, and that was the last thing he wanted. Spook her and they'd never get answers. He'd even gone so far as to send out an APB to all merc vessels in any system even close to their position to leave them the hell alone and let them on their course... _or else_. The _or else _always got to them, even when he had no _else _in mind, per say. Of course he knew not all the mercs in Central Worlds' employ were smart enough to listen, so he told Monty to keep an eye on them as well, since he'd taken such an interest. The man had protested at first, but when offered an unlimited supply of coffee and creds at the small snack bar on his level, how could he say no?

Gordon had been called into the Superior General's board room on the affair and had been questioned about the 'anomaly'. He stood in the middle of the darkened room surrounded by the closest men he had to bosses in the company and a few of his more, or less, respected colleagues.

"Mr. Gordon, we've been made aware of some sort of occurrence that you're investigating. Care to share details?" Gordon cleared his throat and glanced absently at each man in turn.

"No, not really. All will be divulged in due time, gentlemen. You have my word. It may just be nothing at all but for now I would like to keep this a bit of a secret." This answer caused a bit of commotion among the horde of men in front of him. The confidence he held for the level he was at within the company made many uncomfortable, which was the point after all. That's precisely why he was Chief of Intel. He silently reveled as the men tittered amongst themselves. Finally the Superior General cleared his throat to command silence.

"May I speak with you privately, James?" Gordon was ushered into the General's Council Chambers. By the end he had convinced the powers that be that he had the entire situation under his complete and capable control, and that he would personally see to any repercussions with swift, decisive action. He'd gotten strange looks from his colleagues as he left the chambers with a self satisfied smile smeared across his face, but he also got acceptance without questions, which was how it should be.

Neither Monty nor Gordon had family, to speak of, so all they were left to do was wait. Gordon hated waiting, and though he did not consider himself a terribly patient man, for this he would be patient. He had a feeling in his gut that it would be worth the patience it would take. And he was right. It took nearly two days, but Monty had finally figured up the trajectory by their speed and basic course, factoring in immediate needs he was sure the human inside the ship would have, and found out what system they were headed to.

"Seneca," Gordon let the word roll off his tongue like a delicacy he'd waited all his life for, "Of course. Lots of little pit-stop-planets there to refuel and ration at. Well done, Monty, well done. Stay with them. Let me know immediately if anything changes."

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